In this AP photo, Brownie Sibrian gives a valedictory speech at a Latino pre-graduation celebration, sponsored by the Latino Student Assn. and MEChA, about a week before graduating from Whittier College in California in May 2010.Ferris is hosting a grand opening in Big Rapids on Tuesday, Nov. 27 for its Center for Latino Studies.AP

BIG RAPIDS, MI --As the number of Hispanic students attending college continues to grow, Ferris State University is taking steps to strengthen its relationships with the Latino community on campus and in Grand Rapids.

The university, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, is hosting a grand opening for its newly created Center for Latino Studies, an institution that will reach out to Hispanics through educational, social and leadership-development activities, said Tony Baker, executive director of the center.

“It’s adding to a more vibrant campus community,” said Baker, a sociology professor at Ferris who also serves on the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education.

As of fall 2012, there were 452 Hispanic students at Ferris – 3.1 percent of the total student body. That’s up from 1.9 percent in fall 2008.

At Ferris' campus in Big Rapids, the center will host cultural activities, provide a space for Hispanic students to gather and give professors an opportunity to infuse a Hispanic perspective into various academic disciplines.

Baker said the center is also in the process of creating several partnerships in Grand Rapids, two of which are with Grand Rapids Public Schools.

One of the partnerships includes connecting Ferris pharmacy students with health, science and technology students at Central High School. Together, the students would perform health screenings throughout the community, Baker said.

The other would place education students from Ferris at Union High School – which has a large Hispanic student body – as tutors or student teachers, he said.

“We need to do more to create a pipeline of teachers that can serve a diverse student body,” Baker said. “We want to create more teachers that are certified in bilingual teaching or ESL (English as a second language.)”

Nationally, the number of Hispanics attending college has continued to increase in recent years. Hispanics accounted for a record 16.5 percent of college enrollment in the U.S. in 2011, according to an August report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

“We definitely do outreach to Hispanic students,” said Kristen Salomonson, dean of enrollment services at Ferris. “It’s very important … one of our core values is diversity.”

Ferris has long been striving to build connections with the Hispanic community and provide an accommodating and welcoming environment for all its students. But administrators acknowledge their efforts have likely fallen short in some areas – something they hope the Latino Center will change.

The initial annual budget for the center is set at $250,000, administrators said. That covers two full-time staffers, initial start-up costs and community outreach efforts.

“We need a place for students to be able to gather to connect, to share their cultural experiences, not only with Latino students, but other students as well,” said Ferris Provost Fritz Erickson.

In addition, Ferris is also launching the Latino Business and Economic Development Center in Grand Rapids, an initiative that aims to provide guidance and resources for Latino-owned business in the area.

Erickson stressed that partnerships the Latino Center will pursue with various academic programs at Ferris will benefit all students.

“If you’re going to be in any kind of business today, understanding the Latino community can be a very beneficial thing,” he said. “The more understanding you have, the better off you’re going to be from a business or economic sense.”

He added: “We are generally better off as people when we understand others. The more we can learn about others, the more we’re able to reach out and engage with those cultures.”